“Coo-what?” It always amazes me how many people have never heard of cushaw, much less tasted its rich deliciousness. The cushaw is one of the oldest varieties of pumpkin-like squash in the western hemisphere and was an important staple among ancient people. Today it is still important in traditional cooking in southern Louisiana and among Native Americans. It is technically a squash but has many of the characteristics of pumpkin. The most common is the green-striped cushaw which average 10 to 20 pounds, grow to be 12 to 18 inches long and roughly 10 inches in diameter at the bowl. They are mostly grown in the southern and southwestern United States. Cushaw is more resistant to many insect and weather conditions than most other squash or pumpkins and after harvesting, it can be stored for up to 4 months.

The flesh of the cushaw is yellow and buttery looking when cooked. In fact, in some areas it is called cushaw butter. There are infinite ways to cook it or cook with it. The most popular is to use it in pie just as you would pumpkin or sweet potato. Some like it best bake in the oven, still in the rind, with butter, sugar, and cinnamon sprinkled on top. To eat it this way, remove the seeds, quarter or cut into large chunks. Score the large pieces with a fork, sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon, top with a pat of butter, and bake in the oven until a fork pierces it easily.

When MJ and I were kids, Mama would stew cushaw (as I describe in my recipe), except she would add cinnamon and/or cloves and nutmeg and serve it as a side dish. I choose not to add the spices when stewing, but if you do, and decide to use the leftover for the cake recipe below, cut back or omit the spices in the cake (see Kitchen Notes).

My kids have always loved cushaw. My daughter calls it “yummy buttery deliciousness,” hence the name of my cake. I came up with the cake as a way to use leftover cushaw. Each squash makes a generous amount of stewed meat and even after a couple of rounds on the dinner table there is usually some leftover. It can be frozen for a short time. The cake can be frozen quite successfully, but I doubt you will have that opportunity once you try a slice.

Stewed Cushaw

"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.

Course:
Side Dish, Vegetarian

Cuisine:
Southern US

Yields: 8cups (about)

Recipe Author: Nadalyn Larsen

Ingredients

1cushaw,Any size

Water

Salt to taste,probably about a generous tablespoon

2tablespoonsto a ¼ cup of sugar*

Half a stick of butter.

Instructions

Prepare the squash by removing the neck first, peel and cut it into large cubes (about 1").

Transfer to a large Dutch oven or other large pot.

Cut the remaining bulb portion in half and remove the seeds and scrape the inside as you would when cleaning a pumpkin.

Peel and cut into small cubes and add to the pot.

Add only enough water to fill about half the volume of the squash in the pot.

Cover and cook on medium to high heat, removing the lid occasionally to stir, making sure that all the pieces get into the water to cook.

After about 30 minutes, remove the lid and allow some of the water to evaporate. Stir frequently until the squash is tender enough to be mashed with a potato masher.

When the flesh is tender, drain off as much liquid as possible. Return to the pot over a low heat. Mash with a potato masher and add the salt, sugar and butter. Stir to combine well and to evaporate off more of the moisture until the pulp is creamy.

Serve piping hot.

Refrigerate leftovers in a closed container.

Kitchen Notes

You want just enough water in the pot to stew the squash. Most of the water will evaporate during the stewing process. Younger squash will take longer to cook (about 40 to 45 minutes) than older squash which have set for a few weeks before cooking. Just keep checking it and when the chunks are easily pierced with a fork, then it’s done.

When adding sugar to the stewed and mashed cushaw meat, start with a small amount and gradually add more as needed until it is as sweet as you like. The amount you use also depends on the cushaw itself. Some are sweeter than others. The last one I cooked was the tartest I have ever made, so it took more sugar. Remember, it is a vegetable so you don’t want it as sweet as a dessert.

Cushaw Coffee Cake

"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.

Course:
bread, Breakfast

Cuisine:
Southern US

Yields: 1loaf

Recipe Author: Nadalyn Larsen

Ingredients

1cupleftover mashed, stewed cushaw

1 ½cupall-purpose flour*

1teaspoonbaking powder

¼teaspoonbaking soda

¼teaspoonsalt

1stick butter,1/2 cup, at room temperature

½cupgranulated sugar

½cuplight brown sugar

½teaspoonvanilla extract

2large eggs

Oil or Crisco to grease the pan

Instructions

Preheat over to 350° F.

Put cushaw in a strainer or sieve to remove excess moisture. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

In a bowl large enough to eventually hold all the ingredients, beat together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on medium or low.

Add the eggs and vanilla and blend until smooth. Blend in the cushaw.

Add the dry ingredients to the cushaw mixture a little at a time. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. It should be fairly thick.

Pour the batter into a well-greased or oiled 9 inch loaf pan.

Bake for about an hour and ten minutes or until a thin wooden stick (I use a chopstick) comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.

Leave the cake in the pan and cool on a baking rack for about 20 minutes.

Remove the cake from the pan and let it finish cooling on the baking rack.

Kitchen Notes

As with many cakes, this one tastes great served warm, but to me it tastes even better the next day eaten cold or at room temperature. It stays moist unrefrigerated for several days when covered in plastic wrap.

I didn’t use spices as you normally would in similar cakes made from pumpkin or sweet potatoes, because the cushaw has a more delicate flavor. If you like more of a coffee cake flavor, add ½ teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg. I have made it this way several times and it is very good. My husband loves it with the spices but the rest of us like the plain jane cake.

You can also add nuts if you like. I recommend pecans or walnuts because their flavors don’t detract from the flavor of the cushaw. I suggest that you chop the nut meat into small pieces and add it to the batter. With a house full of folks with nut allergies I don’t usually add nuts.

To rewarm, you can microwave a generous slice for no more than 20 seconds.

I hope you enjoy both of these cushaw recipes!

MJ: Bobby and I had the privileged of eating some of this cake during the holidays. We had it with our afternoon tea then requested another slice for breakfast the next day. It definitely is yummy deliciousness!

November 2016: Upon visiting Nadalyn and her family this Thanksgiving, she sent me home with a large cushaw. After cooking it down and pureeing it, I made a couple of cakes and them froze the rest of the pulp. I did make a couple of changes to the recipe based on our likes. It was just a good as the original Below are the changes:

My Miles introduced me to Cushaw. She would cut like a thick french fry and soak in salt water. She would then coat with white medium corn meal and fry like a french fry. OMG SHE COULD NOT FRY FAST ENOUGH

I was given a giant green and white striped gourd I knew was likely a type of squash. I searched the web until I identified it as a cushaw. In searching for recipes, I found your site and recipes. I cooked and mashed the cushaw with butter, salt, and sugar as you suggested except I used brown sugar. I was so pleased with the results and happy to discover this wonderful squash. I took this to a church dinner because it was more than my husband and I could eat and was pleased for others to discover it as well. I still have some left and am excited to try the coffee cake! Thank you for providing this information. Sharing how your children enjoyed the cushaw is what prompted me to choose your recipes. Mary

Mary, thank you so much for you nice comments! These are actually my sister’s recipes that she so generously shared with us. I’ve had the cake and it’s awesome! I can’t imagine anyone NOT liking it, no matter what the age. 🙂 That’s exciting that you shared the stewed cushaw with your church group! You must have enjoyed it to share it. 🙂 I’ve sent your wonderful comments with my sister for her to enjoy as well. Thanks again and I hope you explore other recipes and enjoy them just as much.

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The way I remember cushaw was cut into about three inch squares, shell and all and cooked in a large kettle with water and sugar. Cook this down to a syrup and when you got it on a plate just scrape it off the shell. I was raised in the Applachian Mts of Southwest Va. This cushaw is grown here and I ate it as I was growing up. Also I like to add a little maple syrup to mine and butter. It is delicious with cornbread.

Thanks so much for your recipes for Cushaw!.. my MIL grew them but I did not get interested in growing them until recently… This year I have a variety called “Jonathon Pumpkin”.. its a rarer , white cushaw which looks like …. a White pumpkin!… LOL…

we are having a harvest dinner at our next Master Gardeners meeting so I was looking for recipes for my Cushaw!.. I got my seeds from Bakers Creek and they have produced wonderfully this year so am anxious to find other ways to prepare this wonderful squash! I will Definitely be saving the seed to replant next year! ( although I may have to roast a few seeds to eat too! )

Beth, Thanks so much for such a lovely comment! I will pass this on to my sister, the creator of this wonderful post and recipes. I’ve never grown cushaw, but if the plants are like other squashes, I bet they are beautiful. Hope you enjoy the recipes and thanks again!

Hi Helene, I’m not sure what the name means. It’s technical name is cucurbita mixta. I have cooked it with sauted onion but I’ve never thought about cooking cushaw with tomato or cheese. Sounds interesting. If so, I would suggest only blanching or baking it raw rather than stewing it before baking or it would probably get mushy combined with other veggies. I have seen cubes of the raw veg added to soups and stews, so onions, tomatoes and cheese – why not!

I have honestly never heard of cushaw, but I am intrigued. Anything that has a lovely buttery flavor has my attention:-) That sweet bread looks seriously so moist, and sounds amazing:-) Thank you for sharing, Hugs, Terra

I am one of those who will say — Coo-What? Haha! I have never heard of such a squash, MJ! I am sure there is a lot of goodies out there like Cushaw that is undiscovered by someone like me and thanks to youfor sharing this info. Almost weekend, so have a good weekend and stay warm. 🙂

Hello Nadalyn! I love learning about new food ingredients. Cushaw is a new squash for me and I am eager to taste this. The cake looks very moist and delicious. Thank you for introducing a wonderful food! 🙂

Yep, me too! I’ve never heard of cushaw either! I’ll have to ask around to see if we have any at our markets. It really does look so moist and buttery. I’d love to work with it. Thanks for posting this!!

What a funny name! I have never had idea what these are called like (I would call them “pumpkin” or something similar, depending on the language) and I see them quite often on Swiss markets. Unfortunately I am not a fan of pumpkins, squashes etc. (I think I’m the only one on the Earth…), but your cake looks so tempting, I would love to taste a bit and see if I might start liking cushaw 😉

Sissi, I guarantee you will be a convert once you try this unique and healthy vegetable. It tastes nothing like the summer squashes. The stewed squash tastes almost like a pudding and the cake is buttery and good. It’s worth a shot.

I was at the co-op this weekend and they had lots and lots of winter squash, but no cushaw. Bummer! Maybe next year. Should have bought one when I was in Houston. 🙂 Thanks again for this great post Nads!! XOXOXO

MJ, Thank you for this opportunity. I’ve had great fun reading the comments and responding. I wish we had sent a cushaw home with you too. I guess we were too busy grubbin’ and gabbin’ to think about it. XOXOXOX’s back atcha’.

You got me there! While I’ve seen them I’m not sure they are what you’re talking about here or just the ordinary squash. That cake looks really moist. Is it called coffee cake cos it’s best had with a hot drink or is it supposed to have coffee in it?!

You’ve probably seen them among the winter squash in the market. So many people think winter squash are only for decoration. Au contraire! They are some of the best eatin’ all year. And the beauty of winter squash is that you CAN use them to decorate and when the season is over they are probably still good for cooking. This type of cake is referred to as coffee cake to differentiate it from the ultra sweet dessert cakes. Coffee cake is great with your morning coffee and afternoon tea or as a snack cake any time of the day. There is no coffee in it, although you probably could create a cake with coffee as the flavor. HuMMMM?

Hello Nadalyn – “Coo-what?”. But, now I know:) Thank you for introducing a great variety of squash. I love winter squashes, especially the buttery types. I’ve taken a good break from sweet baked goods after Christmas, so the coffee cake is looking really good to me now. It is looking so moist and delicious!

Thanks for introducing me to something new. I’ve never heard of this type of squash before and I’m sure it’s not available here in Australia. How clever you are to think of using the leftovers in a cake! xx

Absolutely, you should try it. Because it is not a super sweet cake and (this maybe stretching it a little) because it is made from eggs and a vegetable, it makes a healthy breakfast treat. Oh, this gives me an idea! I should try crumbling up some crisp bacon in it! Bacon, eggs, and squash all in one bite. A balanced breakfast! LOL!

Perhaps, Purabi, there is something similar there that could be used in the recipe. I belive it is the properties of the squash flesh that allow the cake to stay moist for some time. I hope you find something.

I’ve not seen nor heard of this squash … yet, MJ. This is when I miss the farmers markets most. They would surely carry a larger variety of items like squash than those available at the chain grocery stores. You’ve piqued my curiosity, though, and I need to check out a couple of the vegetable stands and see if they carry them. Thanks!

I must admit…having grown up in the Northeast….I’ve not heard of cushaw before. But I do love squash in all forms and pumpkin. I love baked squash with cinnamon and spices. But I could eat several pieces of that Yummy Deliciousness…..wow does that look moist! What a wonderful post and some beautiful pictures ladies! : )

I’m not sure I’ve ever come across a coo-what either ;-). Thank you for all the information on cushaw MJ – I love the buttery texture of squash generally and the fact that you worked it into a cake is simply genius! Interesting too that you left it without spicing for its authentic flavour to shine through. I don’t do that enough. I think “yummy buttery deliciousness” pretty much sums it up and I’m quite sure it would get the same reaction over here… What a lovely recipe and original idea.

Thank you Kelly. When I was working on this recipe I made several versions and left them out for family to try and retry. This version without spices was always the favorite. Hope you get the chance to try it.

Yes Ramona, this cake is very moist. In fact, when MJ and Bobby were here, the cake I cut was a couple of days old and the first thing Bobby commented on was how moist it was. It’s a great “make ahead” treat.

Great guest post! I admit I don’t often use cushaw in my cooking. Love the idea of stewing it! And squash in breads and cakes is such a tremendous ingredient. Both recipes look wonderful, although I think the coffee cake is calling out to me at the moment. 😉 Good stuff – thanks.

[…] On the farm, the cushaw squashes grew to such a remarkable size that one squash provides enough fruit to be used over a remarkable long period of time. I have undertaken the preparation of a cushaw squash, and I am here to share my experience with the process. I will begin by sharing how I made cushaw squash puree, and then I will follow up later with recipes on how to use it. This method is adapted from: http://mjskitchen.com/2013/01/stewed-cushaw-and-cushaw-cake/ […]

[…] make a pie crust. I use biscuits instead. Plus, I really don’t like to bake that much, despite my Cushaw cake recipe MJ posted several weeks ago. I am very much about repurposing and using what you have on hand, so […]

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